Expeditions / Trips Amstercow Diary / Updates Narva to Begunitsv
Saturday, 28 June 2008 02:00 Last Updated on Monday, 10 January 2011 07:39
Cycling Day: 20
Distance: 105km
This morning our host prepared a breakfast for us of bread, cheese and cold meats. We crossed the bridge which is the border between Estonia and Russia and had to go through the border post. It went smoother than expected, because the woman checking our forms could speak a little English and she didn’t ask any strange questions.
5 km over the border, we reached our total of 3000 kilometers and had a beer we bought at the Estonian supermarket. Lance snapped a spoke, unfortunately we didn’t bring any spares so had to continue with one spoke missing. The main road we followed had a wide enough shoulder, but had so many potholes and bumps, most of the time it felt like cycling on the moon. Billy’s front brakes also didn’t want to work anymore, but we decided rear breaks must do for now.
Our host in St Petersburg, Vladimir, said he will meet us at the small town of Begunitsv (halfway between Narva and St Petersburg) and camp with us for the night. We reached Begunitsv at half past 7 and saw Vladimir (or Vovick as his friends call him) waiting at the Begunitsv sign. This Vovick is a legend among hitchhikers and travellers and has so many interesting stories to tell. He hitchhiked from Russia to Cape Town, cycled off road for 3000 kilometers around Mongolia, climbed Kilimanjaro without a permit and almost went to jail for it, hitched rides on boats, a helicopter and military airplanes and also hitchhiked through Afghanistan while they were at war with America.
We followed Vladimir for about 20 kilometers looking for a campsite and found a spot in the forest where we put up our tents. Before our trip, we’ve heard the mosquitoes near St Petersburg are hectic, but now we know what they meant by it. Mosquito spray didn’t help, they were everywhere, like a black cloud surrounding you. Also millions of small little bugs that got into your hair, ears, nose and mouth. We quickly broke apart a dead tree and made a fire, so the smoke could at least keep the worst away. Then we cooked dinner (pasta of course) and listened to all Vladimir's amazing tales.
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